B.C. to appeal NEB ruling on Trans Mountain pipeline expansion

British Columbia’s government is appealing a decision that allows Kinder Morgan Canada to bypass local regulations in constructing its Trans Mountain pipeline expansion.

The National Energy Board ruled in December that the company is not required to comply with two sections of the City of Burnaby’s bylaws, which Kinder Morgan had said were hindering its ability to go ahead with the federally approved project.

The city said on Friday that it wants to appeal the decision, saying the company should be required to comply with all municipal bylaws.

Now the provincial government is following suit, saying it has filed leave to appeal the board’s ruling with the Federal Court of Appeal.

The province says in a statement that the board erred by “too broadly defining federal jurisdiction over interprovincial pipelines.”

B.C. is also locked in a dispute with Alberta and the federal government over the project’s future after Premier John Horgan’s government announced it is looking at limiting shipments of diluted bitumen from the west coast.